Acapulco
, Mexico


By Johanna Brady
Mrs.DeBlock
4/25/08


Mexico is located south of the United States. Acapulco is located in the southwestern part of Mexico. A fun fact about Acapulco is Acapulco means “Where the reeds stood.” Acapulco‘s Nickname is The Paradise of the America’s. This was a little about what I am going to tell you.
Acapulco was occupied by the Nahua Indians around 3000BC. Centuries later, Acapulco was conquered by Cortes when the Aztec Empire fell in 1521. Acapulco was turned into a big shipyard because Cortes wanted to build ships to conquer Pizzaro. He also enslaved the Nahua Indians. Acapulco became a key trading port and soon attracted pirates like Sir Francis Drake. To defend the port the Spaniards built Fuerte de San Diego. This fort helped them until an earthquake destroyed it in 1776. This port became popular again in 1810 during the gold rush in Panama. The population of Acapulco is 717,766 people. Acapulco is in the state of Guerrero. That was the history of Acapulco.
There are a lot of beaches in Acapulco. Many people go there to relax. When people are on vacation they love the perfect sunsets and clear waters. The best place to see the perfect sunset is Barra de Coyuca. This is where the bay meets the lagoon. Cliff divers are a well known attraction here. Many tourists go to experience the legendary cliff dives. Zocalo is the main public square and oldest part of Acapulco. Tourists can find a lot of places to eat and shop here. Tourists also like to go bungee jumping, parasailing, surfing, snorkeling and going on balloon rides. Also many fishing boats, too. There is also a cool thing called Yacht Racing!! Since the 1770’s ABC world wide sports has been there and there has been very Historical Sports, too. It has a famous church is there it is called the Nuestra Senora. This church was built in 1930. It has a dome shaped tower. Inside you’ll see yellow and gold tile and the walls are painted white and blue. They have Magico Mundo Marino Water Park. There is also a Historical place there it is the El Fuerte De San Diego, this was once a famous fort and is now a museum.
The major industries in Acapulco are oiling, tourism, agriculture, and textiles. Tourism dominates the economy of Acapulco. This means that Acapulco gets most of its money from all the tourists visiting. They wouldn’t do so well if the tourists stopped coming. Their economy would fall apart.
In conclusion, Acapulco Mexico has a lot of history but also has a lot of fun and exciting things to do. It is easy to see why so many tourists year after year continue to visit Acapulco.



Bibliography

Mexican Destinations http://www.mexonline.com/<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">5/9/08

May 2008–Vol. 11 Issue #11 http://www.mexconnect.com/<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">5/9/08

Attractions
http://www.acapulco.com/en/index.html<span style="font-family: Times New Roman">5/9/08

Acapulco
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acapulco<span style="font-family: Times New Roman"> 5/9/08